THERE are times during a rugby match where even the most experienced coaches are left searching for answers.
For FIJI Water Flying Fijians head coach Mick Byrne, it often happens when the referee calls a scrum penalty.
“I think when you get into the scrums, I mean, I sometimes I sit in the coaches’ boxes and scratch my head on some of the decisions,” Byrne said, as he reflects on past decisions.
Ahead of tomorrow’s Test against the Scottish side at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva, Byrne said the Fijian scrum is shaping up well for another week together.
“I think for us, we’ve worked really hard. I know the boys’ done a great job. We’ve got, very good props that handle the northern hemisphere game really well and we have got some really good Drua players that have done well in the scrums,” he said.
Fiji was pinged last weekend for a “break foot” infringement, something Byne says they will be more aware of now.”
“It’s difficult to understand. Like last week, we had an issue with a break foot, which we accept that’s just a new law. But we’ll be fine.”
He believes the forward pack has built strong combinations over the past week.
“Having had a week together now, combinations feel, you know, we’ve got northern hemisphere props with, you know, southern hemisphere hooker and one southern hemisphere, one northern hemisphere lock, one northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere flankers. Combinations are really strong.”
The Flying Fijians lost narrowly to Australia last weekend, but Byrne says the pack showed improvement as the match wore on.
“We’ve had a really good week. I thought we improved as the game went on last weekend. So I’m looking forward to seeing our scrum perform this week.”
The match kicks off at 3pm.
